Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to automatic notification devices for a vehicle and, more particularly, to an apparatus selectively attachable to a vehicle seat belt which is responsive the seat belt condition to provide automatic alert notification relating to a specified vehicle condition.
Description of the Prior Art
It is an unfortunate reality that each year, there are numerous deaths that result from a child (or infant, toddler, baby) being exposed to high temperatures while in a vehicle. Statistics generally show that the majority of child heatstroke deaths occur because the caregiver simply forgot the child in the vehicle when exiting. Thus, despite many states having laws in place which prohibit leaving child unattended in a vehicle, the nature of so many of these tragic occurrences renders such laws wholly ineffective in preventing them or reducing their frequency.
Attempts have been made to solve the problem of distracted or forgetful caregivers (such as parents or custodians) leaving children trapped in vehicles. One such solution involves the use of electronic devices integral with a child seat and which sense the presence of a child and emit an alarm when the child is either left in the vehicle that has been shut off or in which the temperature is rising. A limitation of such sensor based systems, however, is that they often employ components that are relatively expensive and/or complex. Because of potential costs, such sensor based systems may be difficult to employ universally. Moreover, the complexity of such systems may these result in certain components being more prone to failure and rendering the entire system non-functional. And in a system which only generates an alert after a child has been forgotten in a vehicle, it is possible that a user would not even know of any such failure because absent a specific testing mode, the system would be effectively dormant until a child is left in a vehicle. Furthermore, it is noted that a system which only generates an alert when a child is actually in left in a vehicle would not help a user build a habit to remember turn around, look in the back seat, and check for a child's presence each time the user exits the vehicle. Such habit building can be important because a child could be left in a vehicle due to the occupant(s) failure to remember that the child was with them on a that particular day; therefore if a habit of checking for a child every time one exit's their vehicle (whether or not the child is brought along) is built, such a habit may reduce the chances that a caregiver will forget a child in a vehicle when the child is actually present.
As such, the problem of distracted or forgetful caregivers leaving children trapped in vehicles where they may suffer from heatstroke and lose their life remains. Furthermore, even if the child is saved by someone who happens to walk by the vehicle and notice the forgotten child, the caregiver's life may be wrecked due to criminal prosecution or losing custody of their loved one because of their error. Thus, there remains a need for an apparatus for providing an alert notification that is attachable to a seat belt and is automatically actuated upon the release of the seat belt. It would be helpful if such an apparatus for providing an alert notification was designed to be initiated each time a user was to exit a vehicle. It would be additionally desirable for such an apparatus for providing an alert notification to generate a user configurable audible message upon being actuated prior to the user exiting the car.
The Applicant's invention described herein provides for a vehicle seat belt attachment apparatus for providing an alert notification adapted to generate an audible alert to a user concerning a vehicle condition, such as the status of a child occupant, each time the user is preparing the exit the vehicle. The primary components of Applicant's apparatus for providing an alert notification are a mounting member and an actuator housing. When in operation, the apparatus for providing an alert notification provides an automatically generated, habit promoting, audible alert notification that can prevent a user from forgetting about a child seated behind them in the vehicle. As a result, many of the limitations imposed by prior art structures are removed.